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COKRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




COL. W. R. STUART, 

(The father of Pecan culture.) 
Ocean Springs, Miss. 



THE PECAN, ttr 

AND HOW TO GROW IT. 



WHERE THEY GROW WILD 

WHERE THEY ARE BEING CULTIVATED 

WHAT LANDS ARE BEST AND ALL ABOUT IT 



BY THE STUART PECAN COMPANY, 
OCEAN SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI. 



CHICAGO: /??n?\l 

WOMAN'S TEMPERANCE PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION, 

1393. 



Copyright 1893 
By the Stuart Pecan Co. 






<=# 






DEDICATION. 



To the father of Pecan culture, 

Col. TO. 1R. Stuart, 

who has done so much for the people of the South, 

and humanity at large, 

by his numerous repetitions of success, 

showing the practicability of growing and improving the Pecan, 

this work is most respectfully dedicated. 

The Author. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Col. W. P. Stuart Frontispiece 

Plate I. Stuart Pecan Company's exhibit at 

World's Fair, Chicago, 1893 - 8 

Plate II. Trees with Tap-root Cut - 38 

Plate III. Branch of Pecan Tree - - :>4 

Plate IV. Pecan Nuts 59 

Plate Y. Pecan Tree - - 60 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

History of the Pecan Tree - - - - 9 

Copy of the Letter Addressed - - - 13 

The Answers .... - 15 

Tropical and Semi -Tropical Fruits and Nuts 

in America - - - - - -32 

Selecting a Site for the Grove - - 33 

Setting Out the Grove - - - 35 

Age of Trees for Setting Out - - 37 
Cutting the Tap-root - ... 37 

Care of Trees After Setting - - 40 

Planting the Nuts -42 

Will the Nuts Come True - 44 

Grafting or Budding, the Remedy - 45 

How to Secure Grafting Wood - - 50 

The Fruitful and the Barren Pecan Trees - 51 

Enemies of the Pecan - - - - 53 

Fertilizers for the Pecan - - 56 

The Ideal Pecan Nut - - 58 

The Number of Trees per Acre - - - 59 

What Others Say - - - 62 



PREFACE. 

Tins treatise has been written and prepared by 
us because the demand for this knowledge has been 
persistent. We have been flooded with letters ask- 
ing the questions herein answered. We fully real- 
ize that it is very important to be able to have a 
text-book for reference when engaging in any im- 
portant industry ; which can be relied upon. Here 
is our own experience, as well as a great many 
others right to the point, and will be invaluable to 
all who are not thoroughly posted. By all means 
start aright; it will save years of time, as well as 
money and perplexities. We wish to acknowledge 
with gratitude the valuable assistance rendered us 
by Col. W. R. Stuart, while preparing this work. 

The Author. 

May 1st, 1893. 



= i[6TUART\ ISVTS 

^^^j^iiiiiiHMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiim 




THE STUART PECAN COMPANY'S EXHIBIT AT THE WORLD'S FAIR, CHICAGO, 1893. 



the rrain nriD now to qeqw it. 



HISTORY OF THE PECAN TREE. 

The Pecan tree is found growing wild only in 
North America, and that principally between lati- 
tude twenty-five to forty; therefore we have right- 
fully a monopoly upon the nut. The trees grow 
in greater abundance along the streams, in sags or 
depressions, scattered here and there over the face 
of the country, most probably from the fact that 
there is more fertility and moisture in such loca- 
tions than upon higher grounds. The tree resem- 
bles very closely the Hickory (especially at the 
age of ten or twelve years) by the fragments of 
scale bark upon the surface of its trunk. The 
limbs and foliage are almost identical in their 
general appearance with the Hickory, the leaves 
having that same pungent odor when bruised. It 
is characteristic of the tree, when growing where 



10 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 



it lias plenty of room, to be quite spreading in its 
branches, forming a symmetrical head and making 
a dense shade. Growing in the forest it attains a 
height of sixty to one hundred feet, and from one 
to four feet in diameter at its base, with a straight 
trunk, presenting altogether a very pretty appear- 
ance. The wood is quite valuable on account of 
its great strength, it being about the same heft as 
that of Hickory. It is used for tool handles, wagon 
axle-trees, etc. ; in fact takes the place of Hickory 
in the land of its nativity, although not considered 
quite as reliable. The nuts are quite small, 
usually; they are borne upon the extreme end of 
the twig of the preceding year's growth, in clus- 
ters of from two to eight. 

It usually requires from eighty to one hundred 
and twenty-five to weigh one pound; although 
occasionally, a tree is found with large nuts, of 
which forty to sixty will weigh a pound, and if 
soft shell so as to crack readily by pressing two 
together in the hand, they are held in high esteem, 
as that is the variety sought after by those who 
contemplate setting out a grove with an especial 
view of growing nuts for market. When the wild 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 11 

Indian had this country all to himself and roamed 
through these vast forests, the Pecan tree furnished 
him a very reliable source from which to lay up a 
store of most excellent food. The white man has 
never paid much attention to the nut until within 
the last few years, and now they are proving them- 
selves more worthy of cultivation each succeeding 
year on account of their superior excellence. No 
other nut, either native or imported, can compare 
with it in flavor. And the end is not yet; by 
making choice selections and giving them proper 
cultivation, both size and flavor can be very ma- 
terially advanced, judging from what has already 
been done in that direction. There is a loud call 
for further light upon Pecan culture, for general 
information bearing upon it of a reliable charac- 
ter, whereby the diligent may be hopeful of suc- 
cess. Herein lies the true secret of writing and 
compiling this book, inasmuch as we are propaga- 
tors of this particular nut, it is our specialty; we 
are making a determined effort to draw out the 
very best results attainable in this line. Bearing 
in mind the accepted truth of a noted writer who 
said, " He who makes two blades of grass to grow 



1 2 THE PECAN AND HO W TO GRO W IT. 

where but one grew before, is a public benefactor." 
We plant only the very choicest nuts; and when 
grafting or budding use scions from trees which 
have borne the largest, thinest shell, richest rneatecb 
finest flavored nut now known ; and by feeling our 
way along with care, a crowning success must be 
assured. Experience is the great teacher; with this 
thought in view, we addressed the following letter 
(which will explain itself,) to men in nearly all 
the States to which the Pecan is indigenous; these 
men all have some knowledge of the Pecan in both 
its wild and cultivated state, the most of them 
being the owners of tame groves. We sincerely 
trust that the information received in answer will 
be something of a help to those who contemplate 
setting out a grove to start aright, that being a 
very important point to insure success. 



Copy of Letter Addressed 



Oceax Springs, Miss., Dec. 26, 1892. 

Dear Sir: — Will you kindly reply to this in- 
quiry, by furnishing us with what knowledge and 
statistics you can in regard to the Pecan tree and 
its nut in your State. In what part of the State 
do they grow wild ? to what extent over the State ? 
How large do the trees grow? Do they hear reg- 
ularly, or do they miss some years ? 

What number will it take to weigh a pound of 
the largest you have ever seen growing there? 
Are there any shipped out of the State? If so, 
where do they go ? What is the wholesale price? 
Are they usually thin or thick shell? What is the 
character of the land where the trees thrive best? 
Is it bottom or high land? To what extent will 
they live with the land flooded? Can you esti- 
mate the annual value of the crop in your State? 
Is the Pecan tree cultivated in your State with a 



14 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

view of producing nuts? If so to what extent? 
Are there any grafted or budded trees, or any 
apparent interest in that direction when setting out 
groves? The information herein ashed for will be 
gratefully received, as we want to incorporate it in 
a book which we are now preparing for publica-. 
tion, bearing upon the Pecan nut industry of the 
United States. Yours very truly, 

Stuart Pecan Co. 



Answers. 



FROM KANSAS. 

Manhattan, Kan., Jan. 2, 1893. 
Stuart Pecan Co. 

Dear Sirs : — The Pecan tree grows wild in the 
southeast corner of this State, the largest growth is 
three feet at the base, and sixty feet in height. 
They do not bear full every year; there are no 
large nuts — they would grade medium or small. 
Think there are none shipped out of the State. 
Do not know the wholesale price. They are thick 
shell. The trees grow in the valleys bordering the 
streams. The lands are frequently flooded, but the 
water does not remain long. Cannot estimate the 
annual value of the crop, it is not large, however. 
There are no cultivated groves here yet. Some 
have saved the Pecan trees, cutting away the other 
timber. There are no grafted or budded trees. 
This information was given me by my assistant, 



16 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

who recently traveled through the Pecan region in 
search of general information on forest topics. 
The trees you sent me last year have grown finely. 
I should like to try them more fully. 

Yours very truly, 

E. A. Popenoe, 
Professor of Horticulture and Entomology, 
Kansas State Agriculture College. 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 17 



FROM MISSOURI. 

Bluffton, Mo., Jan. 3, 1893. 
Stuart Pecan Co. 

Dear Sirs: — I will answer your questions to 
the "best of my ability. The Pecan tree grows 
wild on all the bottom lands along the Missouri 
River, but few are found elsewhere. I have 
known trees three feet through, and one hundred 
and forty feet high. They bear nearly every year. 
I think of the very largest nuts, sixty would weigh 
a pound. Some go out of the State, but mostly 
find a market at home. The price paid is about 
five cents per pound. Some are thick, and some 
are thin shell, they also vary in quality, some being 
very fine flavored, some are very smooth shell, 
while others are rough. I know of no groves 
being set out here. They are all wild, but some 
men have had sense enough to spare the tree when 
clearing the land. A friend of mine has eighty 
trees in a field, the nuts from which brought him as 
much money as the wheat off the field which the 






1 8 THE PECAN A ND HO W TO GROW IT. 

trees occupy. Have known water to cover the 
land three feet deep around the trees, for a week 
at a time, without their showing any injury. I 
know of only a few grafted trees and these were 
grafted upon small Hickory sprouts. I have tried 
grafting them upon Hickory limbs, but only two 
lived out of seven. I have two trees of a hybrid 
Pecan grafted on Hickory trees that are large 
enough to bear; they are grafted in the crown 
system upon limbs an inch thick. Hoping this will 
be of some use to you, I am yours truly, 

Samuel Miller, 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 19 



FROM ILLINOIS. 

Bradfordton, III., Jan. 9, 1893. 
Stuart Pecan Co. 

Gentlemen: — The Pecan grows wild here in 
the southern half of the State, in the valleys; 
have seen them three feet in diameter. There is a 
failure of nuts some years; it takes about one 
hundred to weigh one pound; they are all used in 
the State; the wholesale price is six to seven cents 
per pound. The land is sandy where the tree 
thrives best. Flooding the land does not seem to 
hurt them. I think I am the only one that has 
started a Pecan orchard here. Many who own the 
land where the wild trees grow are beginning to 
guard them with care. There are no grafted or 
budded trees here that I know of. 

Yours truly, 

Jas. A. Stone. 



20 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

ANOTHER ANSWER FROM ILLINOIS. 

Flora, III., Jan. 14, 1893. 
Stuart Pecan Co. 

Dear Sirs: — The Pecan tree grows wild in 

spots and patches upon most of the bottom lands 

in the southern part of the State. The finest ones 

are in the extreme southern part, and the farther 

south, the more numerous the trees; some are three 

feet in diameter. There are some nuts every year, 

but the bearing is irregular; the nuts are of fair 

size and good flavor. There are some sold in 

Chicago and St. Louis, but mostly are used at 

home. The price is from eight to ten cents per 

pound. Some are thin shell, can be crushed in 

the hand, are also rich and of fine flavor. The 

trees do best on sandy land; flooding does not 

seem to hurt them. The crop will average thirty 

thousand dollars annually. Until within the last 

five years there has been very little effort to save 

the wild trees, much less to start new ones. I 

know of no grafted or budded trees; I have a few 

trees which grew from the nuts I bought of you 

last year. Yours truly, 

L. A. Michels. 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 21 

FROM ARKANSAS. 

Gaines Landing, Ark., Jan. 4th, 1898. 
Stuart Pecan Co. 

Gentlemen: — The Pecan tree is indigenous to 
this State. It is usually found in the valleys of the 
streams. Some of the trees attain a diameter at 
the base of five feet. They bear a full crop about 
every three years. It would require of the largest 
sized nuts, from seventy-five to one hundred for a 
pound. 

They sell at wholesale for live to twelve cents 
per pound. They are usually thick shell. I think 
they make the best growth upon alluvial soil. If 
the young trees are flooded during their first year's 
growth from the nut, while in leaf, they are killed, 
but after first year, overflow does them no apparent 
harm. Can give no estimate of the value of the 
crop. Orchards are being planted here. There 
are no grafted or budded trees. 

Tours truly, 

AV. G. McLendon. 



22 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 



FROM TEXAS. 

Dallas, Texas, Jan. 13th, 1893. 
Stuart Pecan Co. 

Gentlemen: — The Pecan grows wild upon the 
valley lands along the streams; also upon the hill- 
sides and the heads of streams. Large quantities 
are shipped out of the State. Can give no definite 
figures as to the amount. Many thousand bushels 
go to the Northern States every year. Price aver- 
ages from one -fifty to three dollars jDer bushel. 
They mostly have a thick shell, although in some 
localities very good thin-shelled ones are found. 
Some trees grow to be three feet through and 
seventy feet high. A few groves have been set 
out in different parts of the State, but none are yet 
in full bearing. There are some few grafted trees 
in different parts of the State although none are 
bearing yet. The tree does not bear full every 
year as a rule. The desire for groves is increasing. 

Respectfully yours, 

A. A. Pillock. 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 23 

FROM MISSISSIPPI. 

Okoloxa, Miss., Jan. 2, 1893. 
Stuart Pecan Co. 

Gentlemen: — The Pecan grows wild and bears 
an abundance of fruit in this latitude, eighty miles 
south of the Tennessee line, the presumption is 
that they grow all over the State. I see no reason 
why the tree should not keep company with the 
Hickory. I have seen them eighteen inches in di- 
ameter, five feet from the ground. They bear every 
year. The tree is rarely seen upon hills, or prai- 
ries. Eighty to one hundred of the nuts will weigh 
a pound; they are mostly used at home. There is 
quite a manifest desire for groves. In the year 
1860 I had made up my mind to clear and plant 
one half section with walnuts, but my wise neigh- 
bors actually laughed me out of the project; the 
overflow spoiled it; if I had executed my project, 
I should now be the owner of 320 acres of land 
worth $200.00 per acre. 

Yours truly, 

Dr. J. II. Greex. 



94 THE PECAN AND HO W TO GRO W IT. 

ANOTHER ANSWER FROM MISSISSIPPI. 

Hollendale, Miss., Jan. 4th, 1893. 
Stuart Pecan Co. 

Dear Sirs: — The Pecan tree grows wild all 
over the Delta section of this State. Some of the 
trees grow very large and produce good size nuts 
with fine flavor. The best bearing trees grow upon 
the ridges which are sand loam. I am sorry to say 
that it is a common way when gathering the nuts 
to cut the tree. Flooding the ground does not hurt 
the tree. There is now an effort being made here 
as well as in other parts of the State, to propagate 
a large, thin-shelled variety, the seed and trees of 
which are obtained from the Stuart Pecan Co., at 
Ocean Springs, this State; but as yet that is its 
incipiency. I think there will be a growing de- 
mand for trees, as they do so well here, and if fchey 
can be grown successfully upon the Gulf coast, in 
the sand, they ought to do wonders here when cul- 
tivated, as the wild tree is often the monarch of the 
forest. I have no grafted trees. 

Yours truly, 

' I. T. Casey. 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. !>o 



FROM ALABAMA. 

Eufaula, Ala., Jan. 13th, 1893. 
Stuart Pecan Co. 

Gentlemen: — I do not think there are any 
wild Pecan trees in this State. Cultivated ones 
grow very finely and bear nuts every year. I 
think seventy -five would weigh a pound, as an 
average; but there are some very large soft shell. 
The nuts sell at wholesale from ten to fifty cents 
per pound. The trees mostly grow upon sandy 
soil. There are no grafted or budded trees here. 
There is some interest beino; shown in starting 
Pecan groves. I have planted a four-acre grove. 

Yours truly, 

Cliff. A. Locke. 



26 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

FROM FLORIDA. 

Anthony, Florida, Jan. 1st, 1893. 
Stuart Pecan Co. 

Dear Sirs: — The Pecan tree does not grow 
wild in any part of this State; but there 
are some cultivated groves here. They are 
mostly thin shell; there are not enough 
raised yet to supply home demand; they 
grow upon both low and high lands, but bear 
earlier and produce better on upland. Cannot esti- 
mate the value of the crop ; the industry is new. I 
know of one tree growing on poor sandy soil fifteen 
years old, which produces an average of three 
bushels of nuts per year. I also know of trees 
twenty years old producing as high as ten bushels 
per year on clay land. There is a growing desire 
for groves manifested. I have the largest grove in 
the State; containing four thousand trees, all 
grafted, now five years old; they are seventeen feet 
high, and bear a few nuts; think they will bear 
profitably in three more years. This grove is in 
northwestern Florida, upon high clay land. 

Yours truly, 

. H. S. Kedney. 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 27 



FEOM KENTUCKY. 

Moscow, Ky., Jan. 16th, 1893. 
Stuart Pecan Co. 

Gentlemen: — The Pecan tree grows wild in the 
western part of the State. It bears very well, bat 
the nuts are small ; not many sold out of the State. 
Don't think the overflow of water hurts the tree, 
excepting when in leaf. Cannot estimate the value 
of the crop. They are rarely cultivated; do not 
think there are any grafted trees here. 

Yours truly, 
James L, Beckham. 



28 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 



FROM INDIANA. 

Evansville, Ind., Jan. 12th, 1893. 
Stuart Pecan Co. 

Gentlemen: — The Pecan tree is indigenous to 
the southern part of this State ; the trees bear very 
well, but the nuts are small. Of the crop, several 
hundred barrels are shipped out of the State every 
v ear; they go to Chicago, New York, and St. Louis, 
They sell at from five to twelve cents per pound. 
No groves are being set out here. Most of the 
trees grow upon low land, yet I know of some 
growing upon high land. I have never seen any 
grafted trees, excepting in Florida. I have three 
small trees in my yard which grew from large nuts 
sent me by Colonel Stuart of your place. 

Yours truly, 

Samuel Yickery. 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 29 



FROM GEORGIA. 

Bain-bridge, Ga., Jan. 12, 1893. 
Stuart Pecan Co. 

Gentlemen: — Many cultivated groves of the 
Pecan tree are to be found in this State. Mr. 
Averitt of this county has one of forty acres, of 
which two hundred trees bore last year. Some of 
the trees yielded four bushels, and the nuts sold at 
from fifteen to twenty cents per pound. This grove 
is on high land. I have a grove, the trees of which 
are three, four and iive years old, also upon high 
land. New groves are being set out every year, 
and so far as I can learn they all do well. 

Yours truly, 

Jno. D. Wood. 



SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE. 

We have a communication also from Mr. Henry 
E. Dosch, of Hillsdale, Oregon, who lias a few trees 
growing there. He reports they do nicely. We 
also have one from Gen. John Bidwell, of Chico, 
California, a place in the Sacramento Valley. He 
says he has trees thirty years old, and that they 
nourish finely in that locality. 

Verily it does look as though the planting of 
Pecan groves would prove to be the solution of the 
hitherto difficult problem of what to do with a cer- 
tain vast acreage of land in the Great Golden State, 
notably the San Joaquin, and Sacramento Valleys, 
which are visited by an overflow every winter. The 
soil is rich and deep, affording just the home in 
which the Pecan is bound to nourish, and yield a 
rich return to its cultivator. 

But, while admirably fitted for the Pecan, the 
land is too bountifully supplied with moisture for 
fruit trees in general, and is altogether too wet for 
creals. It will be readily seen on a careful review 

of the foregoing, that the information covers a 

30 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 31 

broad field, extending as it does from Ocean to 
Ocean, and latitudinally, from the Gulf to the 
fortieth parallel, in a large portion of which the 
Pecan tree is indigenous to the soil. We further 
learn that the tree, when not in leaf, will survive the 
floods ; that it thrives upon clay, sand, and alluvial 
soils; and moreover that the people are becoming 
interested in the Pecan, and are planting groves 
with full confidence in a future and abundant re- 
ward. It is also dawning upon the perception of 
those interested in this subject, that the nut is capa- 
ble of vast improvement, through wise cultivation, 
in the line of grafting and budding, and that such 
cultivation must yield rich returns in the enhanced 
market value of the nut which is certain to follow. 
In fact there is no ground for discouragement 
appearing in the evidence. Taking it all in all, it 
adds an encouraging chapter to the history of the 
enterprise already so full of promise to the invest- 
ors in the Pecan industry. 



32 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 



TEOPICAL AND SEMI-TROPICAL FEUITS 
AND NUTS IN AMEEICA. 

Perhaps the extent of our resources in tropical 
fruits and nuts, as reported by the Census Bureau, 
will be something of a surprise to many. At the 
time of the last census, there were exclusive of or- 
chards intended only for private use, 13,515 acres 
of almonds, 677 of bananas, 169 of citron, 9,864 co- 
coanuts, 4,477 of figs, 550 of guava, 1,362 of kaki, 
7,256 of lemons, 495 of limes, 12,181 of madeira-nut, 
7,097 of olive, 184,003 of orange, 2,189 of pine- 
apple, 171 of pomelo, and 27,419 of pecan trees ; 
a total acreage of 221,068 given to tropical and 
semi-tropical fruits and nuts. The reports on val- 
uation of crops for the same year amounted to $14,- 
116.59, divided as follows : Almonds, $1,525,109; 
banana, $280,653; cocoanut, $25,217; fig, $307,271; 
lemon, $988,099 ; lime, $62,496 ; madeira-nut, 
$1,256,958; olive, $386,368; orange, $6,603,098; pine 
apple,$812,159 ; pomelo, $27,216 ; pecans,$l,616,576. 
In nearly every case the number of non-bearing 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 33 

was double the number of bearing trees. Pecan 
culture is recommended in the report, as an indus- 
try from which future developments of a wonder- 
ful nature may be expected. 



SELECTING A SITE FOR THE GROVE. 

A deep sand-loam is probably the best, as that 
kind of soil is usually fertile, and the roots pene- 
trate it quickly and with ease. Consequently, it 
will grow very rapidly, and with the fertility such 
soils usually have, you will save the expense of fer- 
tilizing your grove for a good many years. Next 
in order is clay-loam with a porous subsoil. 

Many of those soils hold a rich store of fertility 
for several feet in depth; although the roots are 
liable to meet with much more resistance while work- 
ing their way downward ; hence, growth may be 
slow. 

Next come common sandy soils, such as grow 
the pine ; it is not uncommon to see fine cultivated 
Pecan trees in bearing upon these lands ; but it 



34 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 

must be borne in mind that all such lands will give 
better results if they are fertilized a little each year; 
but as soon as they come into bearing you will not 
feel the expense, as they are sure to pay their own 
way with half a chance, and leave a fine profit be- 
sides. Groves will do nothing upon springy, boggy 
soils, where the water stands near the surface ; the 
roots will not penetrate the water ; they will only 
shoot out laterals, which are not the main reliance 
of the Pecan. Its stronghold is its tap-root, which 
will go right into the bowels of the earth thirty 
feet, and send out laterals all the way down. They 
are diligent in their search after food, and the more 
porous the soils the quicker they will find it. In 
loose porous soils the feeding roots are much more 
numerous than in the hard ; the farther down to 
standing water, the better for the Pecan tree. 

Neither will it do to set trees where there is 
ledge rock near the surf ace, especially if solid, but 
the tap-root will work its way down through frag- 
mentary rock in a zigzag way ; it will also pene- 
trate very hard clay, although slowly. There is no 
limit to the growth of the roots laterally. 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 35 

SETTING OUT THE GROVE. 

Pecan trees should be set from forty to 
eighty feet apart, being equal distance from each 
other, in straight rows both ways, standing north 
and south, east and west. The distance must de- 
pend upon the natural fertility of the ground, or 
the anticipated treatment you propose to bestow 
upon them year by year, as their interests demands; 
always bearing in mind, the poorer the land, the 
farther the trees should be apart. Even though 
they stand at the farthest distance apart here 
given, the feeding roots will in time, carry home to 
the parent stem, plant food from the utmost limit. 
Now measure off your ground^ the distance between 
trees being decided upon, make' a hole where the 
first tree is to stand, with an iron bar, four feet 
deep, into which drive a stake eight feet long, leav- 
ing three or four feeVabove the surface ; do the 
same where each tree is to stand, over the whole 
plat of ground ; this is your guide by which to set 
your trees. Now take out the ground three or four 
feet deep, and two feet each side of the stake all 
around ; then fill in the bottom of this hole with 



36 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 

surface dirt or good dirt drawn for that purpose, so 
that the end of the tap-root after being trimmed, 
when resting upon it will show the distance re- 
quired for the root to set in the ground, when the 
hole is filled to the surface. Now cut off the end 
of the tap-root also those of the laterals with a 
sharp knife, so as to leave a smooth surface ; don't 
peel up the bark, nor let any bruised part remain. 
Good work right here is very important to insure 
new roots coming out from the end at the surface 
so prepared. When all things are ready, take out 
the stake, stand the tree where the stake stood, fill 
in with good dirt, packing moderately, have the 
lateral roots lay straight out, do not pack them 
down against the tap-root. By this manner of 
measuring off and preparing the ground you can 
have them all straight in row and nice with very 
little extra trouble. 

The time to set out the trees is soon after they 
shed their leaves in the fall, or just after the cold of 
winter has passed. The tree rarely needs a stake 
to hold it in an upright position, but in case one is 
found leaning, give it attention immediately; keep 
them growing; straight. 

O O O 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 37 



AGE OF TREES FOE SETTING OUT. 

The Pecan tree if set out at the as;e of one and 
two years is more likely to live and prosper than if 
older. At that age they are easy to handle, also 
cost less, and will make a larger tree at the age of 
ten years, than if it was older when transplanted. 



CUTTING THE TAP-EOOT. 

This subject deserves more than a mere passing 
notice, inasmuch as some people apprehend that 
cutting the tap-root is injurious, when in reality the 
reverse is true; it being a benefit according to ex- 
perience and evidence. It is a well-known fact 
with vegetable growers, that such as cabbage, cel- 
ery, lettuce etc., will grow much stronger and larger 
when transplanted, than if allowed to mature 
where the seed was sown; as there will be numer- 
ous new roots shoot out from the end of each 
broken one. It is the same with corn in the early 
stages of its growth. The Pecan is no exception to 







I A 






i 








• 



■ 

this ru - - — : a more 

thorough and _ - _ 

smooth cut of the ta aving 

hes long, and there 
r threi :.• tap-i ts tak< its | 
shooting from the end whore cut S S 

rhis sh - a photographic view of two 
s, which had their tap-roots cut during 
- ar of tl dsl i the nut: this 

skive evid< I si s wheretln 

- cut: also that one of the trees has thrown out 
theri w tap-roots; such we be- 

tter* I 

: W. R Stuart. "The Fath< iij cult- 

the trees in lii> _ had their 

tap-i ts at; and he is s has been a benefit 

to them. Mr, 11. C. Di ks a of G _ . writes. 

that of I trees ] urchased from us tin 

one ha ina ' s) rtesl *. has made 

the best fi :li. 

*: four hundred taken up out of our nur>- 
set out _ . and then taken up to sell, 

show there is not a failure to re< one of 

- ade a new tap-root. There is id to 



40 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 

the evidence in this line from all quarters, and not 
a single failure from the thousands of trees which 
we have sold, consequently it is a settled conviction 
with us, that it is just as well, if not better, to 
transplant the tree when one or two years old than 
to have it mature directly from the seed without 
transplanting. 



CAEE OF TKEES AFTER SETTING. 

For the first two or three years it will be best 
to cultivate the land; don't crop heavy, but by all 
means keep it free from weeds. It is best to grow 
some hoed crop such as corn, cotton, beans, or pota- 
toes one year, then the next, sow to clover or to 
cow-peas, and plow under; be sure to keep the fer- 
tility of the land well up; keep your thoughts 
upon the interest of the Pecan tree; in starting 
them you have laid the foundation of a great suc- 
cess ; don't draw the fertility from close around the 
tree by growing crops too near. When plowing, 
turn the furrow towards the tree until the land is 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 41 

well rounded up, so as to leave the dead furrows, 
half way between the rows, two feet deep that the 
water may drain away freely. This applies more 
particularly where the land is flat with hard sub- 
soil. 

When the trees are four years old seed down to 
orchard grass, or whatever kind does Lest upon 
your land for permanent pasture. As soon as it 
has made sufficient growth turn in sheep and calves, 
as they cannot hurt the tree now by browsing it; 
in this way whatever is taken of the land's produc- 
tion, will be left upon it; don't take off a crop of 
hay unless the soil should be rich enough to spare 
it; otherwise you will be robbing the trees of what 
they will need to carry on their growth and fruit 
production. It is well to have a light mulch around 
the trees, just enough to keep the grass and weeds 
down. If the land should be rather poor sand, 
draw in marsh muck six inches deep around each 
tree ; the rains will carry its fertility down to the 
roots of the trees and greatly stimulate their growth. 
Keep the trees trimmed to the height of eight or 
ten feet before letting them branch; even at that 
height, the weight of nuts in good bearing years 



42 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

will weigh the ends of the lower limbs down near 
the ground, after the trees have attained an age of 
fifteen or twenty years. There were trees near here 
last year presenting that appearance, and some 
limbs higher up the trees actually broke under the 
weight of nuts. The growth of the trees will 
depend very much upon the care given them ; their 
needs must be supplied from year to year. Do not 
be half-hearted about it, enter right in with a vi^or- 
ous determination to accomplish the end sought for 
and your hope will blossom into a reality more 
bright than you ever dreamed of; but you must 
not be caught napping. 



PLANTING THE NUTS. 

In preparing the plot of land for planting nuts, 
plow it deep, have it of fair fertility and in a loca- 
tion free from pests of all kinds if possible. Mark 
off the ground in rows four feet apart, then make a 
furrow four inches deep, drop the nut in this, 
twelve inches apart, and cover so the ground will 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 43 

be level. In case rats or squirrels find tliem they 
will dig them out ; then there is an ant that is at- 
tracted to the nut as soon as it opens to let out the 
shoot ; they will also eat the kernel entirely up. 
Plant in the winter. Be sure to get nothing but 
the large thin shell variety, which has grown upon 
isolated trees, standing rods away from any of an 
inferior kind. This way of doing is far preferable 
to planting, where you want the grove to stand, for 
you can protect them in a nursery much better than 
when planted on a large area of ground. Keep 
them free from weeds and grass, and they will 
make a growth of eight to fifteen inches the first 
year. 

Transplant them into the grove at the age of 
one or two years, in case you are ready, but the 
sooner, the better ; some report good success even at 
the age of five and six years. All that are not set 
at the age of one year should have the tap-root cut 
fifteen to twenty-four inches below the surface of 
the ground. 



44 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 



WILL THE 1S T UT COME TRUE 

The Pecan is no exception to the general rule 
that seedlings are unreliable. It is now an estab- 
lished fact that only a small per cent will come 
true ; frequently the variation is very great; some- 
times they degenerate ; then again, a better nut is 
produced than the one planted. Col. AV. E. Stuart 
says they will sport more or less, and his great ex- 
jDerience cannot be questioned. The Pecan in- 
dustry is not old enough yet to give even an 
approximate estimate of just what can be depended 
upon, yet when the best has been done in this line 
of endeavor and it is not satisfactory, the question 
is, what is the course to be pursued to make it sure 
that the trees of your grove will produce what you 
have worked for and expect. 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 45 



GRAFTING OR BUDDIXG IS THE 
REMEDY. 

By using cuttings from cultivated trees that are 
known to bear fine nuts, and graft or bud the seed- 
ling, you are absolutely certain of reproducing the 
same variety. This is a more difficult operation 
with nut-bearing trees than ordinary fruit trees, and 
only a very small per cent live, except from the 
hand of an expert. Trees which produce a first- 
class nut are very few in number, consequently the 
work of propagating from them goes slowly, as 
the supply of cuttings are limited, yet this work has 
been going on for three or four years, so the newly 
propagated trees are now producing some cuttings. 
There is a method known as " annular budding " 
which proves quite successful. Proceed as follows: 

Take a sharp knife, make two cuts completely 
around the stock about one inch apart, cut only 
just through the bark; make a straight slit through 
this bark between the two circles, now slip off this 
ring of bark and use it for a pattern to cut the 
ring of bark by from the scion, which must have a 



46 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

well developed bud about in its center; cut close to 
each end of the pattern ; now split this second ring 
down as you did the first, slip it off from the scion, 
put it in the place of the ring taken from the stock, 
trim if necessary so that the fit will be perfect ; 
now wrap with strips of waxed cloth all the 
wounded parts, but do not cover the bud ; cover 
over well the slit with wax, also tie two cords 
around, one above and one below the bud, over the 
waxed cloth just where the scion bark meets the 
stock bark. In case it is a success, the bud will 
show life in a few days, and after the shoot is out a 
f ew inches, cut the cords, also the top, from the tree 
a few inches above the bud ; let no sprouts grow on 
the stock, as they would draw the support from the 
bud. After the bud has grown ten inches, cut the 
stock down to within one inch of the bud. Seed- 
lings can be worked in this way after they are two 
3^ears old up to live or six. The scion wood must 
be full as large as the stock; the bandage and wax 
must be well applied so as to exclude the air per- 
fectly from the wound. In case new bark does 
not form readily over the stock above the bud in 
two years, trim down a little with a sharp knife. 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 47 

Some use the tongue graft ; it does very well 
for one year old stock. The mode is to cut the 
stock square off a little below the ground, place 
your knife down on one side of the stock, one and 
one-fourth inches from the end, draw upwards, 
have the knife come out almost the center of the 
stock at its top; this takes off a wedge-shaped piece; 
now partly split, and cut a little across the grain 
from the top of the stock down so far as the piece 
is long that you shaved from the one side; thus you 
have a wedge-shaped tongue upon one side of the 
stock; now prepare the scion in a similar manner 
only cut clear across the scion, having the knife 
come out just at the inner edge of the bark at the 
end; split the scion in the center, setting the knife 
back from the end in commencing; now insert the 
tongue of the scion into the cleft of the stock, being 
sure that the edges of the bark of all meet nicely 
upon one side, this makes it possible for a union of 
the scion with the stock at four different* points. 
Wrap with twine to hold the parts well together ; 
bring up the earth to near the top of the scion all 
around, no wax is needed. Scions should be cut 
when the buds are dormant, and stored away in a 



48 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

cool, moist place until used. Trees to be worked 
this way must be upon high, dry ground, as stand- 
ing water would be death to the scion at any time 
for the first six months after the grafting was first 
done. The old-fashioned cleft graft is fully as reliable 
as any; trees one inch in diameter are very favor- 
able for that style of work; saw off the stock just 
at the surface of the ground, with a fine tooth, 
sharp saw, split the stock in the center; now put a 
wedge in the cleft to hold the splits apart just the 
distance of the thickness of your scion when trimmed, 
wedge -shape at one end, ready to be inserted into 
the cleft of the stock; which needs to be done with 
great nicety. Where the scions are small enough 
so they will not crowd each other, it is best to put 
in two for each stock. Wrap a cord firmly around 
and tie ; also use a liberal amount of wax upon the 
sides of the cleft, also upon the top of the stock ; in 
fact cover all bare places well over; then bring 
up the earth to near the top of the scion, leaving 
one bud out. The limbs of the tree can be worked 
in a similar manner, with this difference ; more wax 
must be used, and each scion must have a terminal 
bud, so as to prevent evaporation. The new 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 49 

growth of limbs of course are preferable as the 
bark is more pliable; also has more sap which cir- 
culates very freely. The old style way of propagat- 
ing, by budding as we bud the peach, is a failure 
with the Pecan. There is no question but what it 
richly pays any one who contemplates putting out a 
Pecan grove, to do it with budded or grafted trees, 
even though you go very much more slowly, as it 
is not the number of trees that count so much as it 
is the good ones. Ten grafted or budded trees are 
of more value in starting a grove than ore hundred 
of the best seedlings you can get ; in the one 
case you are certain that your trees will bear fine 
large soft shell nuts (in case your scions were of 
that kind, which are the kind to secure by all 
means), while with seedlings you do not know what 
the nuts will be. It costs no more to care for the 
grove of choice trees than of poor ones; then again 
the grafted or budded ones comes into profitable 
bearing three years earlier than the seedlings. 
Here is a case in point; last November we paid in 
cash, $248.00 for the nuts which grew upon one 
tree, the crop of one year. The tree is twenty 
inches through at its base and forty-five feet high; 



50 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

such a size tree would grow in twenty or twenty- 
five years. Now small nuts from the same size 
tree will sell for not more than fifteen or twenty 
dollars. Another tree only ten years old bore 
$13.50 worth. These choice nuts are such as we 
grow seedlings from, we sell a great many more 
seedlings than we do grafted or budded trees, sim- 
ply because they are so much cheaper, and people 
in general do not realize that such a vast difference 
exists between the profits of the seedling and the 
grafted or budded; but such is the case, and such 
it will always remain for aught that we can see. 



HOW TO SECURE GRAFTING WOOD. 

Those who contemplate establishing groves and 
cannot afford to buy a sufficient number of grafted 
trees with which to set it, can buy from one tree up 
to as many as they can, according to their desire 
and ability, of the very choicest variety, and a part 
of each succeeding year's growth of new wood can 
be trimmed off to craft or bud seedlings with. In 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 51 

so doing you may be going a little slow, but you 
can have the satisfaction of knowing that you are 
on the right road, the one which leads to success; 
you are growing your own wood for grafting and 
may have some to sell, and it will sell at a good 
price, because it is scarce; it need not be long be- 
fore you will get back all your trees cost you, as 
it is a very profitable business raising the trees, 
just for the grafting wood alone. We appreciate 
this condition perfectly, inasmuch as we never have 
ben i able to get all the grafting wood which we 
want to use in grafting and budding our seedlings. 



THE FRUITFUL AND THE BARREN 
PECAN TREES. 

A Pecan tree standing alone may not bear nuts, 
from the fact that it receives no pollen with which 
to fertilize its blossoms. Herein lies the advantage 
of having a number of trees together in the grove, 
the wind and the bees carry the pollen from one 
tree to another, the flowers are thereby fertilized 
and production follows. Let one stalk of corn grow 



52 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

by itself and but few kernels appear upon the 
cob. 

Mr. George Tyng, of Texas (who has for years 
been an extensive cultivator of the Pecan) says, 
" Most Pecan trees bear both male and female 
flowers upon the same tree." The male flower is 
about three inches long, borne upon twigs of the 
preceding year's growth ; the female flower resem- 
bles a leaf -bud, and appears on new twigs of the 
current year. I believe (but do not assert) that 
some Pecan trees are male trees, bearing male 
flowers, but never bearing nuts ; also that there are 
female trees producing nuts only when the spring 
weather has not been too dry or too stormy to pre- 
vent fertilization of their flowers by pollen carried 
by breeze or insects. 

Nuts will mix when the trees stand close to- 
gether, the same as corn, upon the same principle, 
through the distribution of the pollen from one tree 
to another, either by the wind or insects, such as 
work upon the blossoms. Therefore when setting 
out your grove, set each variety by themselves, and 
have a double distance between the rows of each 
variety, setting the space so left, with fruit trees of 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 53 

some kind ; as by so doing you can keep each 
variety comparatively separate. There are two 
kinds of blossoms, the stamen and pistil; now in 
order for a tree to produce, some of the pollen from 
the stamen, must come in contact with that of the 
pistil, thus fertilization is produced, and the 
embryo nut is formed ; hence, the larger groves will 
be more likely to bear, and every tree in them, than 
smaller groves. 



ENEMIES OF THE PECAN. 

The Pecan has two enemies, the caterpillar, and 
the saw-bug. The caterpillar forms webs around 
among the smaller subdivisions of the boughs of 
the trees. These webs are from one to two feet in 
diameter. The caterpillars remain in these webs 
some weeks, until nearly full grown, but eat only 
few leaves. They then leave the web and come 
down and settle in a mass on the body of the tree, 
like bees on the outside of a hive in hot weather. 
In this state they can be easily destroyed. After a 
few days they ascend, and disperse themselves all 




54 



PLATE III. PECAN BRANCH WITH EMBRYO NUT. 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 55 

over the tree, and feed upon the leaves. These 
worms must be destroyed, either while upon the 
body of the tree, or in the web. 

Make a ball of old clothing, attach to the end 
of a pole, soak the ball in coal oil, then set it on 
fire and hold under the webs, and but few, if any, 
will survive. The saw- bugs begin their depreda- 
tions late in the summer and continue until frost 
comes. They saw off very neatly, by their peculiar 
process, the smaller limbs from one to two feet from 
their ends. These limbs sawed off are punctured 
at different points and an egg deposited at each 
puncture; the remedy is to gather all these limbs 
and burn them. The Pecan tree has no disease; it 
is very hardy, while nearly every other tree, plant 
or shrub of any value has some enemies. In case 
the tree is small, and the worm should attack its 
leaves, it is well to spray with a weak solution of 
paris green. Keep the tree Avell looked over, and 
in case there is anything wrong, right it at once, 
before it has had time to g-et a foothold. 



56 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 



FERTILIZER FOR THE PECAN. 

Have a place to pile everything in a compost 
heap that has any value as a fertilizer. The three 
principal ingredients which the tree requires to 
make its growth, also to produce well, is Potash, 
Nitrogen and Phosphate. Potash is found in ashes 
of all kinds; also kainite, a substance resembling 
rock salt, which is shipped to this country from 
Germany, contains about 14 per cent, of potash. 
The cheapest source is to buy wood ashes even at 
20 cents per bushel. Next comes kainite at about 
$15.00 per ton. (Dealers in commercial fertilizers 
usually handle it.) These should be sown in a 
light dressing about the trees in the fall and 
worked into the soil, then the fertilizer gets down 
to the roots by tlie time the trees start to grow in 
the spring. A little each year is better than a 
large quantity at once. 

Nitrogen comes from animal waste, guano, ni 
trate of soda, blood, cotton -seed, etc. In case it exists 
in quantity, it should not be composted, as the heat 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 57 

that would be generated in the compost heap 
would drive off a large per cent, of the nitrogen. 
Such had better be mixed with marsh muck, leaf 
mole, or humus of some kind, and kept under 
rover. Apply this to the tree the same as the 
potash. 

Phosphate exists in the phosphate of lime, the 
bones of all animals and the mineral phosphate 
rocks, which are the ancient marine animals. The 
last can be sown around the tree at any time and 
worked into the soil, as there is no waste to it. 
There is nothing better than barn -yard manure, but 
as that is made only in limited quantities, and not 
enough to go around, the deficiency must be supplied 
from some other practical source. Your compost 
heap will be a complete manure, having all the ele- 
ments of plant growth. See that nothing goes to 
waste that will add to the value of the compost 
heap. Upon a farm of 160 acres there will be 
enough each year to keep a good sized grove in tine 
condition. It is only the naturally poor land that 
requires to be fertilized; the valleys are always 
rich enough in their natural state for the tree to do 
its best both in growth of wood and nuts. The 



58 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

thin sandy soils require to be fertilized; and the 
tree appreciates such treatment as you can readily 
see by the way it grows, also in the extra crop of 
nuts which it will produce. 



THE IDEAL PECAN NUT. 

There are about six important points in the 
make-up of a really good No. 1. O. K. Pecan nut. 
These distinct qualities taken as a whole, necessarily 
cut a very important figure in the case of each 
person who contemplates growing nuts for profit. 

First. Is size; the larger the better, other 
points being equal, inasmuch as large products sell 
best as a rule. The largest nuts that we have been 
able to find measure exactly two and one- eighth 
inches in length, and one inch in diameter. 

Second. Its general appearance; the nut should 
be symmetrical and well favored, so as to please the 
eye. 

Third. Thinness with firmness of shell; thus 




FIG. I. STUART. 



FIG. 2. VAN DEMAN. 




FIG. t.. COLUMBIAN. 





FIG. 5. 



PLATE IV. PECAN NUTS. 



THE PECAN AXD HOW TO GROW IT. 59 

making the meat easy of access without hammer 
or nut cracker. 

Fourth. Fullness of the interior or plumpness 
of the meat. 

Fifth. Fineness of the kernel with an abun- 
dance of oil, causing crispness and leaving no fibrous 
residue in the mouth after mastication. 

Sixth. Is flavor, which must be fine and please 
the palate; a nut having all these qualities in a 
marked degree is the nut of all nuts, and is here 
already. 



NUMBER OF TREES PER ACRE. 

We give in the following table the number of 
trees or plants required for an acre of ground if 
placed at an equal distance apart. 

Distance apart each way No. of plan 

1 foot 43,520 

2 feet 10,880 

3 feet 4,835 

4 feet 2,720 

5 feet 1,740 




PLATE IV. PECAN TREE. 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 



61 



6 feet.,. 




, , t , , 








1,208 


7 feet. .. 












888 


8 feet. . . 












680 


9 feet.. . 













537 


10 feet. . . 












435 


12 feet. .. 












302 


14 feet... 












222 


15 feet. . . 












193 


16 feet... 












170 


18 feet... 


..... 










134 


20 feet. . . 












108 


25 feet. . . 












69 


30 feet. . . 













48 


35 feet . . . 












35 


40 feet . . . 












27 



If other distances than those given are required, 
multiply the distance in feet between the rows, by 
the distance the plants are apart in the rows and 
the product will be the number of square feet for 
each plant or tree. Divide this number into the 
number of square feet in an acre, 43,520, and the 
result will be the number of trees or plants required 
for an acre. 



What Others Say, 



TRANSPLANTING PECANS. 

Our twenty-five or thirty years experience in 
transplanting nursery-raised Pecan trees has been 
entirely different from that of our correspondent, 
"W. E. Freeman, as detailed in a late issue of our 
journal; and with others whose success has come 
under our direct observation, the Pecan tree has 
been no more difficult to transplant than the pear 
under the same circumstances. In fact, our per- 
centage of loss from transplanting lias been less 
with the Pecan than with the pear. But we speak 
wholly of nursery-raised trees that have been 
properly managed, that have been grown in not too 
deep and rich a soil, and that have been root pruned 
or transplanted every two years while growing in 
the nursery. Transplanting from the forest or 
from deep alluvial or clayish soils, where but few 
lateral or fibrous roots are developed, would of 
course, be attended with general unsatisfactory 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 63 

results, and so would it be with the pear. We 
should not have recurred to this experience of our 
old friend and correspondent, had his communica- 
tion not been calculated to deter many inexperienced 
cultivators from planting out trees of what we con- 
sider the most profitable fruit tree in cultivation. 
And we would here enter our protest to the pre- 
vailing opinion in regard to the extreme tardiness 
with which the Pecan comes into bearing. Properly 
transplanted and cultivated, Pecan trees will, in 
most cases, come into profitable bearing in from ten 
to twelve years ; many in seven or eight years after 
setting out. There are not many varieties of the 
pear that will do better. 



PLANTING THE PECAN. 

Dick Naylor, of Scottsville, Texas, writes Farm 
and R.aneh, that if any man in Texas upon the birth 
of his first son would plant twenty acres of good 
land in Pecan trees and set it aside for him, that 
boy, when he attained to his majority, would have 



64 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

an independent income of $5,000 a year, and merely 
the trouble of picking it up. This might be a bad 
thing for the boy, but the income would be there 
all the same. When the universal popularity of the 
Pecan nut is considered, he adds, we must conclude 
that a grove of Pecan trees would be one of the 
safest investments a Texas farmer could make. If 
the land was not needed for other purposes, the 
trees could be planted two or three times as thick 
as they would stand when grown, and the surplus 
trees cut out for fuel as they grow large enough. 
There is no better fuel than Pecan wood. A pecu- 
liar advantage in planting such trees is found in the 
fact that very little cultivation is necessary. Yet, 
it might be better to use the land for crop purposes 
while the young trees are growing, taking care not 
to plow too close to them. Those who would start 
a grove of Pecans should lose no time in getting 
ready, as fall or winter is the best time to plant. 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. (?o 



PECAN CULTURE. 

I have been long impressed with the fact that too 
many of our people are flocking to the cities and 
towns, to the injury of health, to the hurt of morals 
and the sacrifice of personal independence. If tens 
of thousands now in the crowded cities were in the 
country cultivating small farms, (such are in the 
reach of nearly all,) they would have better sani- 
tary conditions, less temptation to sin, and more 
personal liberty. With these convictions, I am 
prompted to write a brief article on one of the 
methods of securing a comfortable support in the 
country. Our country industries are not sufficiently 
diversified in this South-land. We confine our 
rural industries to too few things, to cotton, sugar 
and rice, important but laborious and overdone prod- 
ucts. Many, especially those of smaller means, 
could find easier and more profitable modes of cult- 
ure. Many things suggest themselves; but I will 
confine myself in this article to the growing of 
Pecans. The Pecan tree is indigenous to the Gulf 
States, and found growing wild in Texas, Louisiana, 



66 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 

Mississippi, and Alabama and Southern Arkansas. 
In their wild state they are generally found on rich 
and moist soils, which suggest that such soils are 
the best for planting and rearing Pecans. These 
trees will grow on clayey, sandy soil, and where the 
land is quite free from much moisture and by fer- 
tilizing will grow to a large size and yield profit- 
able crops but they will do better on rich bottom 
lands. Where the land is rich they ought to be 
sixty feet distant from each other; certainly not less 
than forty feet. 

A plot of ground can be cultivated for several 
years after the Pecans are planted before they will 
shade the ground too much for croj3s; after that the 
Pecan grove will be an excellent pasture. The 
cattle must not be allowed to browse anions the 
young trees, as they are fond of the leaves and 
limbs, and will soon destroy them. Be sure to 
plant the largest and best Pecans you can find. 
Large Pecans will command in the market three 
times as much per pound as the smaller ones. The 
young Pecan tree needs little pruning, and if in rich 
soil, only needs to be let alone. Pecans bear from 
the planting from seven to twelve years. Now a 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 67 

word as to the advantage of their peculiar cultiva- 
tion : While the trees are growing to the bearing 
period, they need almost no attention, and will not 
occupy time or hinder any other business you may 
wish to pursue. Trees after getting into bearing 
will yield from a bushel to three barrels. Average 
Pecans are worth from twelve to fifteen dollars per 
barrel. If you raise peaches, pears, strawberries, 
tomatoes, and the like, they must be handled with 
great care, and promptly disposed of or they are 
spoiled and lost. Pecans can be kept for months 
and shipped anywhere without injury or loss. I 
don't know anything that a young man who has a 
few hundred dollars can do that will pay him so 
well as to buy some good land near navigation or a 
railroad, and plant it in Pecans. In a few years 
when his domestic circumstances demand a lar^e 
income, he will have it. It's light work; little 
children can gather Pecans. 

J. B. Walked 

P. S. — I have no Pecan trees nor seed Pecans to 
sell; — no axe to grind by this article. 



68 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW III 



THERE ARE MILLIONS IN IT. 

To the Editor of the News and Courier: 

There are more developed industries in the 
South than are thought of, and it seems strange 
that so few have thought of starting a Pecan grove. 
The cultivation of the Pecan is not a new industry, 
as many may suppose, as there are a great many 
people in this country, and indeed all over the 
State, who have a few bearing trees. Even in 
Florida, where the golden fruit can be so profitably 
raised, they are putting out Pecan trees. Two gen- 
tlemen in the town of Micanopy, Fla., have each 
several acres of Pecan trees adjoining their orange 
groves. If Pecan culture did not pay, these gen- 
tlemen would not set them on land that is so valu- 
able for orange growing. There are a great many 
varieties of the Pecan. One kind is so insipid that 
it cannot be eaten. Hence it is of great importance 
in securing trees to get the best varieties by pur- 
chasing from reliable dealers. It has been fully 
demonstrated right here, in Barnwell county, that 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 69 

the native South Carolina Pecan is superior in size 
and flavor to those grown West. It is therefore no 
experiment to plant Pecan trees. I have seen vig- 
orous trees, bearing plentifully, in the different 
soils of this and adjacent counties. It succeeds ad- 
mirably wherever the hickory grows, and it resem- 
bles somewhat the latter. It is very tough and 
hardy, and its long tap-root seems to render it inde- 
pendent of the seasons. The young trees are not 
troubled by stock of any kind. It can be planted 
in a pasture if desired. It commences to bear at 
seven or eight years old, and continues to increase 
its stock every year thereafter. The trees are very 
symmetrical in shape, and constitute as handsome 
a^ I efficient shade tree as any other. A grove of 
these valuable trees would add much to the beauty 
of the home. Here is an opening for those who 
own only a few acres of land, to plant trees that 
will in a few years enable them to supply an ever- 
increasino; demand. There is no danger of over- 
supplying the market, there are too many " doubt- 
ing Thomases " in every community to be in any 
danger of planting too many. If Pecan trees could 
be planted in the spring and a crop of nuts har- 



70 THE PECAN AXD HOW TO GROW IT. 

vested in the fall, the business might be overdone; 
but as the harvest is eight years ahead, only those 
who can " see ahead " and are willing to wait for a 
good thing, will plant out Pecan nuts to any extent. 
It is not likely that there will be a general' planting 
of the trees for some time, until the doubting ones 
see what their neighbors are doing. Corn, cotton, 
or any other crop may be grown upon the land 
until the trees pay enough to give the land up to 
them. Who would want to plant the land in cot- 
ton when it pays $200.00 per acre in Pecan nuts? 
They bear paying crops as early as the pear, apple, 
or orange, and a Pecan grove will be as valuable 
here as an orange grove in Florida, and not liable 
to the same disasters that afflict the orange. 

My trees at ten years old bore at the rate of 
$150 per acre, and at fifteen years old the yield was 
$300 per acre. There is more money from a single 
acre than a hundred acres of land would rent for. 
But assuming the product is but half that, what 
other crop affords so great and so reliable a profit ? 
A ten -acre grove would pay better than a ten -horse 
cotton farm, and a grove once set is a lifetime thing. 

A gentleman who lives only a few miles from 



THE PECAN AXD HOW TO GROW IT 71 

this place has two bearing trees, from which he 
gathered and sold last year 847.50 worth of nuts 
with still enough left for family use. Think what 
an acre of such trees would pay. It is surer than 
life insurance or a hank account. You can't spend 
it in a few years, nor do you have to die to win. 
It pays an enormous interest and pays it promptly 
and surely on the first day of every November. 
Forty trees are usually put on an acre. My plan is 
to check off the land thirty by thirty-five feet. 
This gives about thirty-six trees to the acre, which, 
in my opinion is near enough. They should be 
set at one year old and not later than two, as it 
is not unusual for a year-old tree to have a root 
twice as Ions: as the tree is tall. Good mulching 
and fertilizing is about the best thing; for the first 
year or so. After that any of the high grade fer- 
tilizers will produce astonishing results. Experi- 
ence has proven the fall planted trees will grow 
more in two years, than those planted in the spring 
will in three. So the sooner they are set after they 
stop growing in the fall the better. They will then 
have formed new roots enough to enable them to 
stand the summer. If any one will, for experi- 



72 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

ment, take and transplant a tree in September and 
dig it np in November, the number of small roots 
that have been formed will surprise him. Com- 
mence now young man, and put out a grove of the 
best paying and most reliable of all trees, the Pecan. 
Pecan nut& are not perishable like pears, plums, 
oranges and other fruit. Ten years more, will pass 
as swiftly as the past, and in all probability your 
neighbor will have a bearing grove ahead of you. 
In the South no industry pays better than a Pecan 
grove. To give some idea of what I think of the 
business after fifteen years experience, I will say 
that I have a thirty-five-acre grove and am only 
sorry that I did not put out one hundred acres in- 
stead of thirty-five. I will put out sixty acres more 
this winter, making one hundred acres in what I 
consider the most valuable and reliable trees one 
can plant. O. D. Faust, 

Bamberg, S. C. 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 73 

PECAN CULTURE. 

BY PROF. F. S. GARD. 

Suppose a party with some means purchase 
1,000 acres of good Pecan land at say $5 per acre 
(and good lands at present can be had for that) the 
cost of the land will he #5,000. To inclose this 
with good cypress fencing, cost (material and work) 
$4,000; seed, planting of the same 52 feet apart 
each way (making 16 to the acre), and putting cy- 
press stakes around the seed planted, $1,000; total, 
$10,000. 

A smaller grove might be taken as a sample, but 
what is true of a large one will be more fully true 
of a small one, which can be kept up in connection 
with the regular work of the farm without the pur- 
chase of additional mules or farming implements 
for the special work of cultivating the grove. Thus 
far we have the cost of land, fencing, and putting 
the seed in the ground and proper guards around 
it, at a cost of $10,000; size of grove, 1,000 acres; 
trees in rows 52 feet apart, or 16 to the acre, giving 
the whole grove 16,000 trees. Now, for the culti- 



74 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

vation of the trees planted in a proper soil: The 
Pecan needs no cultivation for its own sake; it will 
grow from the seed to a full -sized tree without the 
use of a plow or hoe. 

It is a forest tree with long roots, and capable 
of making their way through the soil, and gather- 
ing up food like other forest trees, without the help 
of man. But being comparatively a slow grower 
at first and therefore liable to be smothered to 
death by the rank growth of weeds, etc., natural to 
our warm climate and prolific soil, the Pecan tree 
for the first few years of its growth needs the assist- 
ance of the plow and hoe to make it a decided suc- 
cess. This assistance if given with reference to 
nothing else than the keeping of the trees of the 
grove clear will cost some money. But there is no 
necessity that this outlay for cultivation should be a 
dead expense, as the land planted to trees can be 
planted in cotton, sugar, corn or almost anything 
that will pay expense of cultivation; there is no 
necessity that the Pecan grove should cost anything 
more to its owner. Thus the first cost of the land, 
fencing and planting, and even part of this, can be 
made to come back before the trees can be bearing, 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 75 

by the judicious management of the working or 
leasing of the land planted in Pecan trees. 

Assuming that $10,000 to be the first cost of the 
16,000 tree grove, and that no further outlay is 
needed, by a judicious management of the place, to 
bring the grove up to bearing, Ave are theoretically 
at least prepared to determine whether the enter- 
J3rise will pay, and if so what per cent, on the cap- 
ital invested. The money invested in a Pecan 
grove will give no returns under twelve years from 
the date of planting the seed. Some Pecan trees 
bear before they are twelve years old, but not 
enough to pay much. I have seen trees bear as 
much as one-fourth of a barrel at twelve years from 
the seed; at sixteen years from the seed a Pecan 
tree will bear from one-half to a whole barrel of 
Pecans; at a more advanced age the tree will 
double or treble this amount. Put the gross prod- 
uct of a Pecan tree at twenty years of age at $5 — 
and this is about the average yearly crop for a 
number of trees taken together — this gives for an 
annual income from 16,000 trees, $X0,000. Before 
the grove is twenty years old it will have yielded 
fruit enough to repay first-cost of the orchard and 



76 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

interest on the same up to that date. So that after 
that time, the net income from an investment of 
^10,000; or in other words, a net income of $40,000 
on a capital of $10,000 invested. Will this pay? 
This is not all theory. The figures can be realized 
if the planting and cultivating be done on strictly 
business principles. While some are developing 
the corn, cotton, rice and sugar interests, let others 
whose tastes lead in the direction of fruits, develop 
the Pecan, orange and other fruit interests of our 
State. 



PECAN TREES. 

INFORMATION OF VALUE TO PERSONS INTERESTED 
IN THE CULTURE. 

Rockingham, N. C, Aug. 22, '91. 
Editor Morning Starr 

Dear Sir: I notice a good deal being .said 
about Pecan culture and would like to have my say, 
too, and at the same time get all the information I 
can. I got seed from Arkansas and planted about 
twelve years ago and the trees are now from twenty 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 77 

to twenty -five feet high, and from six to fifteen 
inches in diameter, and have been bearing for four 
years. I can say little about the profit of the crop 
as I have only a few trees bearing and have put no 
fruit on the market; but the nuts are fine and well 
flavored. I send you by this mail an average sam- 
ple of the nut at this stage of growth; there are 
clusters on the trees having eii^ht nuts in a bunch. 
The trees are planted in ordinary soil, with barely 
ordinary cultivation. About four years ago I 
planted a nursery, the seed also from Arkansas. 
The trees are about a foot apart in the row and the 
rows four feet apart. They are now an inch to two 
inches in diameter and from ten to twelve feet 
high. 

I transplanted fifty last spring without the loss 
of a single tree. In every excavation from which 
I took the tree to be transplanted have sprung up 
three, four, and sometimes half a dozen young trees 
from the roots of the adjacent trees left exposed. 
The young trees are now two feet high, vigorous 
and perfect in shape as if from seed. My bearing 
trees and nursery are in the town of Rockingham, 
and worth a visit of inspection to those interested. 



78 THE PEC AX AXD HOW TO GROW IT 

I expect to plant a grove of four or five hundred 
trees; will begin this fall. I have seen a Pecan, 
called the " paper-shell, " about twice the size of the 
ordinary nut with thinner shell. I would like to 
know if any one is familiar with the nut and where 
to get the seed. I saw the nut at the Exposition in 
Ocala, Florida. 

I expect to have on exhibition at the fair in 
Raleigh this fall a specimen of the nuts on my 
trees. I can sit under Pecan trees of my own 
planting and eat nuts of my own production and 
clo not "mumble them without the teeth either." 
Very respectfully yours, 

T. J. Steele. 



JS T UTS FOR PROFIT. 

The Massachusetts Ploughman says: In the 
South the raising of nuts for profit is a foregone 
conclusion. The Pecan is the nut preferred, from 
its large yield, and from the oil which the nut 
holds. This when pressed can be used for table or 
cooking purposes, and the demand for it is steadily 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 79 

increasing. Chief Van Deman, of the Department 
of Agriculture, believes firmly in the cultivation of 
the nuts as a profitable industry. Colonel Stuart, 
of Ocean Springs, Miss., who has made a wide rep- 
utation as a successful cultivator, says: "I planted 
those large paper-shell Pecan nuts when I was fifty- 
seven years old, and now I am sixty-one, I tell you 
they help me live. I got 117 pounds from one tree 
last fall, sold 105 pounds for $105 and planted the 
remainder of them, and have raised a fine lot of 
young trees, which are for sale. Pecan culture, 
planting the very large nuts, I consider one of the 
safest and best paying industries a man can engage 
in. One of the highest priced nuts in Europe is the 
Pecan, shipped from New Orleans but grown in 
Texas. This tree is the Hicoria Pecan, growing 
from southern Indiana to the Gulf of Mexico. 
New varieties are obtained by grafting, and these 
bring fancy prices. The nuts are oblong, smooth 
and thin -shelled, with sweet and delicious kernels. 
The tree is beautiful, symmetrical, and rapid-grow- 
ing, with abundant light green foliage, narrower 
than that of the hickory. There is a tine specimen 
tree in the grounds of the Capitol at Washington. 



80 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 



IS PECAN GEO WING PROFITABLE. 

Our New Orleans market seems to be a favorite 
for shippers of Pecans, as large quantities are re- 
ceived at this point from various places throughout 
the Gulf States, and especially the State of Texas, 
where they are mostly gathered from natural groves. 
These nuts range in size and quality from the small- 
est, which sell at wholesale at about four cents, to a 
fair quality, which range from seven to twelve and 
a half cents per pound. In Louisiana and Missis- 
sippi however, where the trees have been mostly 
planted and cultivated, the product is generally of 
a much better quality, and it is from these States 
the large paper-shell variety come which sell at 
wholesale from forty to fifty cents, and even more, 
if very choice. This fact clearly demonstrates the 
necessity to such readers of The Times- Democrat 
as propose investing in a Pecan orchard, the wisdom 
of propagating not from the medium but from the 
very best nuts that can be purchased. To illus- 
trate: A barrel of Pecans will weigh, let us say, 



THE PECAN AXD HO IV TO GROW IT. 81 

160 net. If tliey are small and inferior, the pro- 
ceeds at 4 cents, will be $6.40; if medium, 7 cents, 
or $11.20; if fairly large at 12 cents, or $19.20; if 
very large with soft shells, the highest market price, 
which we will say is 30 cents, or $48 per barrel. 
And the latter, it must be remembered, cost no more 
to grow than the most inferior sorts. Now there 
are many persons who would plant Pecans but are 
deterred from it, first, upon the area of land neces- 
sary to establish a large orchard ; secondly, upon 
the length of time elapsing before such an orchard 
would produce a profit. 

To the first objection we will say, there is no more 
handsome ornamental tree than the Pecan, either 
for the house, yard, or lawn, and it is always pref- 
erable to grow a nut-producing tree, all things be- 
ing equal, than one valuable for shade and ornament 
alone. Again, there are very few farmers who do 
not own a piece of land which is utilized as a past- 
ure for stock, and which for argument's sake, we 
will say contains ten acres. This planted in Pecans, 
at the rate of sixteen trees to the acre, and protected 
four or five years from browsing by cattle and sheep, 
may be returned to its former use as a pasture to the 



82 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

equal benefit of both trees and stock. To the sec- 
ond objection, to wit, the length of time neces- 
sary to wait before an orchard becomes profitable, 
we answer: The Pecan being a forest tree and very 
long-lived, its progress is necessarily slow. This is 
especially the case with the natural growth. But it 
is being clearly demonstrated that by selecting, 
first, only the best varieties; second, by fertilizing 
and cultivation this time may be reduced, say four 
or five years, perhaps more. To illustrate: On our 
little farm in the pine woods, was a group of three 
trees fifteen years old, each producing three-quar- 
ters ©f a barrel of superior nuts, the income from 
which amply repaid for the room they occupid be- 
side paying taxes upon the farm. Second, a lady 
who resides in Plaquemines parish gave us a quan- 
tity of Pecans produced from trees ten years old, 
from the seed. Third, a gentleman living in the 
vicinity of Mobile, reports several of his fifteen - 
year-old trees yielding one barrel each. Fourth, 
a correspondent of the Orlando (Fla.) Reporter 
showed extra fine nuts from trees fifteen years old, 
producing at the rate of two bushels each. Fifth, 
Col. W. R. Stuart, of Ocean Springs, Miss., a gen- 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 83 

tleinan well-known in New Orleans, lias quite a 
number of fine trees from which he is receiving a 
large income. These trees are quite large and 
twelve years old from the seed. We might multi- 
ply these instances, but they are sufficient data 
upon which to calculate the age at which the Pecan 
begins to become profitable. Lastly, a thrifty 
Pecan grove upon the farm undoubtedly adds to its 
value, whether the trees are large or small. It is 
also an investment for the young man that will re- 
turn him twenty -fold at middle age and fifty -fold 
should he live to grow old; a future endowment 
for his children and grandchildren, one that will 
pay better and is more sure than stocks or bonds or 
business enterprises of any kind, if ever so promis- 
ing. — Editorial in The Time*-I>emocrat* New 
Orleans. 



84 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 



PKOGKESSIVE PECAN CULTUKE. 

THE GOOD POINTS OF A NEW INDUSTRY ABLY SET 

FORTH. OF GREAT INTEREST TO TEXAS 

CULTIVATORS. 

A paper read by Col. W. R. Stuart, of Ocean Springs, Miss., before 
the Mississippi S'ate Horticultural Society. 

I have been requested by your honored secre- 
tary to prepare a paper on " Progressive Pecan 
Culture,'" to be read at the Ninth Annual Meeting 
of your Society, which is ordered to convene at 
Booneville, Mississippi, December 16, 17 and 18 ; 
1891. 

If I fail to interest you, please attribute the 
failure to my inability to properly treat this impor- 
tant subject, rather than lay the charge at the door 
of that much -abused individual, " Old Father 
Time," at whose threshold has been piled the short- 
comings of many a brilliant orator and writer. And 
I claim that the subject of " Pecan Culture " is an 
important one. It is so recognized by very many of 
the leading horticulturists of the South, and its im- 
portance is further attested by thousands of enter- 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 85 

juising men and women throughout the country, 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, who are eneraerinff 
in the work. Besides, we have the unqualified in- 
dorsement of Prof. H. E. Van Deman, the United 
States Pomologist, Washington, D. C, as to the in- 
comparable value of the Pecan. Fifteen years ago 
(at the age of fifty-six years) I was impressed with 
the belief that Pecan culture in the southern half 
of the United States promised vast possibilities, if 
due care and attention were given it. 

I purchased and planted the largest and best 
flavored Pecans that could be found, without regard 
to price. 

Experience lias demonstrated the correctness of 
this theory. And it was in this way that a new 
industry (Pecan culture) was begun; an industry 
new not only to myself, but new to the country at 
large. During the years that have followed I have 
felt a deep interest in this work, and have used 
every honorable means at my command to advance 
the cause by improving the varieties grown and by 
bringing the subject prominently before the Ameri- 
can people. Some writers have been pleased to 
call me " The Father of Pecan Culture." If my 



86 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

humble efforts have been instrumental in giving 
this branch of horticulture the prominence it has 
attained, surely those years were well spent, and I 
have reason to be proud of the distinction accorded 
me. For the Pecan has taken its place in the front 
rank as the best and most profitable nut-bearing 
tree, while the nut itself, where its merits are fully 
known, is pronounced superior to all others. And 
this industry must go on from year to year increas- 
ing in popular favor as well as in profit to those en- 
gaged in its pursuit. The pride felt in this work 
has been seasoned by a reasonable admixture of 
profit and pleasure, but there is even greater pleas- 
ure in the thought that I have rendered valuable 
service to those of my fellow -beings whom I have 
induced to engage in Pecan culture. Having on 
former occasions given figures showing actual re- 
sults of my experience, that feature will not be 
treated in this paper. However, it is desired to 
refer, in passing, to one tree of the variety known 
as the " Stuart Pecan," soft shell, which has yielded 
this year over $250 worth of nuts, at the price read- 
ily obtained from them. What branch of horti- 
culture will pay better? It is truly gratifying to 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 87 

note the widespread and ever- increasing interest in 
Pecan culture as well as the growing demand for 
the l>est varieties. The tendency to-day is to begin 
right. New beginners, real or prospective, are 
seeking information as to the best varieties and the 
best methods, so that no time or labor may be 
wasted in unnecessary experiments. Nor do these 
inquiries come from any particular locality, but 
from all parts of the country, from Florida to Cali- 
fornia and from Maryland to Texas. 

In all portions of the United States, south of the 
fortieth parallel of latitude, Pecan groves are being 
started, and some enterprising gentlemen risk the 
business even farther North. The importance of a 
correct beginning cannot be overestimated. The 
best results can only be had by planting the best- 
varieties, and by thorough cultivation while the 
trees are young. The grower's bank account will 
be materially affected by the price obtained for the 
product of the grove; there will be greater profit in 
producing nuts that will find a ready market at one 
dollar or more per pound, than in those which sell 
for only ten cents per pound. I am selling one 
variety at ten cents each and will not have half 



88 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

enough to fill the orders that will be received dur- 
ing the next sixty days. Mr. J. T. Quigley, of 
Aransas Harbor, Texas, a gentleman of clear, 
practical views, and who is a close student of Pecan 
culture, recently procured some of my best varieties 
for planting. Under date Dec. 7, he writes, u To 
the investor of to-day these nuts are cheap at a dol- 
lar a piece.' ' 

I could add dozens of similar testimonials, but 
merely give the above as it forcibly expresses the 
value of the best seed, and the importance of plant- 
ing only the best. Hence it may be assumed that 
the secret of success in Pecan culture is found in 
planting the best varieties of Pecans in good soil, 
and in the thorough cultivation of the trees until 
they come into bearing. While the trees are young 
they will not interfere with the growth of any crop 
it is desired to cultivate. The Pecan tree thrives 
best in a generous soil, and unless the soil is very 
rich, it will be found advisable to stimulate the 
trees by the use of muck, mulch or fertilizer. Bear 
in mind that the attention bestowed upon your 
young trees will be richly repaid in their rapid and 
vigorous growth. But here we are met by the irre- 



THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT 89 

pressible croaker who, in tones of despair, exclaims. 
" Oh, it is too long to wait; it will be eight or ten 
years before we get any returns for the labor and 
money expended." Too long to wait? Why, my 
good friend, will you not have to wait whether or 
not you plant the Pecan trees? 

And your land will not produce less of the reg- 
ular crop you rely on for a support, because of the 
small trees, which will, with due attention, soon 
grow into a bearing condition and render you inde- 
pendent the balance of your life. As to transplant- 
ing trees, my experience has convinced me that it is 
better to transplant the Pecan tree at the age of one 
or two years. Avoid older trees, for they are not 
apt to do so well, unless they have been highly cul- 
tivated and well cared for in the nursery. 

Indeed the one-year-old trees are most desirable. 
In conclusion, I desire to express a willingness to 
impart in the future, as in the past, any information 
or assistance in my power to those who exj^ect to 
engage in this industry. I do not claim to know all 
about Pecan culture, for I am learnino; something 
new on the subject everyday. But what I do know 
I have learned by practical experience, and I will 



90 THE PECAN AND HOW TO GROW IT. 

most cheerfully give my friends wlio are interested 
in the subject the benefit of that experience if they 
will apply to me. Pecan culture is in its infancy 
to-day and will make rapid advancement within the 
next ten years. There is no danger of overdoing 
the business, for the demand will keep pace with 
the production; and the man who plants now will 
doubtless not only reap the reward in person, but 
will leave a rich legacy to his children or those 
who succeed him. We have record of one wild 
Pecan tree which has produced more than 1,000 
pounds of nuts in one season. Please estimate the 
value of that tree had it been of the choice varie- 
ties. Hence plant the best; it will repay you many 
fold. "Progressive Pecan Culture " is a subject 
that will soon interest the young and old through- 
out our grand country. I confess that my interest 
increases with each succeeding year. I am now in 
the 7 2d year of my age, and as an evidence of my 
faith in this industry, will state that I have just fin- 
ished clearing up a piece of new ground in which I 
will plant a young grove this winter. 
Ocean Springs, Miss., Dee. 11, 1891. 



The Pecan 






O 



Is 

Our 

Specialty... 



Perhaps you are looking for a location upon which to 
set a Pecan grove? In case you don't find what suits you 
write us, we can give you points that may lead you to it. 

Do you want to sell a Pecan grove ? 

Do you want to buy a Pecan grove ? 

Do you want anything that pertains to the Pecan in- 
dustry ? If so, by all means write us without delay. 

Tell us just what you want, and if we can't help you 
out we will put you in correspondence with some one who 
can, we are at your service. Address 



The Stuart Pecan Co. 

Ocean Springs, Mississippi. 



BRITISH-AMERICAN 

REAL ESTATE AGENCY. 



This agency is established to deal with 
every class of Real Estate property... 



LARGE TRACTS OF LAND 

AT A FAIR flARKET VALUE. 



It can undertake negotiations forthwith, and anyone placing 

property in our hands, however small or large, 

will always receive prompt attention. 



GULF COAST LAND A SPECIALTY 



LAND FROM THREE TO ONE HUNDRED 
DOLLARS PER ACRE. 



For further information call on or address 



J. HARLAND COATES, 

12 Godliman St., St. Pauls, 
London, England. 



F. L. DRINKWATER, 

Ocean Springs, 

Mississippi. 



L«BF 



Ztc 



